I’d be less than honest if I didn’t admit that I drastically underestimated this race. I had figured on the mileage, and wasn’t concerned about it all that much. The weather was a welcome surprise, given the time of year. But I hadn’t thought about the elevation (4500 feet of climbing), or the mud (inches deep and miles long in spots), or the time it would take to negotiate both. And I wasn’t the only one having problems. Of the 150 teams who started, 45 failed to finish.
I was prepared and provisioned for all of it as well as I could have been, but we climbed more in one day than I think I did all of last season. I trained hard in the months leading up to the race, but I’m nowhere near the level I’d need to be to get through a race like the Death March without trouble. To paraphrase Don Rumsfeld, I didn’t know what I didn’t know.
But not all of that is bad. Sometimes, the only way to learn what you’re capable of is to be pushed far, far beyond what you thought you could do. That can take being plunged into a situation that’s over your head, with no real alternatives but to just soldier on. The most formative experiences of my life, I would contend of anyone’s life, are the ones that catch you off guard and challenge you in ways you could’ve never expected. For me, these are the experiences that have taught me about myself. They’ve made me strong mentally and physically, and given me drive, confidence, and motivation.
This race allowed me to discover things about myself I didn’t know, and remember things I had forgotten. I found that I could use my mind to dominate my body. I found that, when pushed to a certain threshold of exertion, you can tangibly feel, in minutes, the effects of each food you put in your body. I found that beating mercilessly on cramping muscles is surprisingly effective. Most of all, I found that camaraderie can be your biggest weapon in a fight against yourself.
These are the guys who helped me train, helped me plan, pushed, motivated, and cheered me through just about the whole process. Without them, I’d have never tried it. Because of them, I succeeded. To my brothers on the Mule Team, thank you. Can’t wait for the next ride.